MASTUNG: The militants belonging to the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) opened indiscriminate fire on a civilian passenger coach in the Khad Kocha area of Mastung district. The brutal assault claimed the lives of six innocent people, including women and children.
So far, as per the authorities, the coach was en route to its destination when it was ambushed by armed militants who began firing at close range. At the outset, several eyewitnesses reported scenes of chaos and horror as unarmed civilians, including young children and women.
In this regard, security officials have confirmed that the BLA, a proscribed terrorist organization both by the government and international bodies, including the United Nations, was behind this heinous act. The BLA, along with the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF), has long been responsible for carrying out acts of violence that aim to disrupt peace.
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Furthermore, the victims, whose identities have not yet been publicly disclosed pending notification of next of kin, were reportedly residents of nearby towns traveling for personal and domestic reasons. There were no security personnel or government targets on the coach, further underlining the purely civilian nature of the attack.
The presence of BLA symbols and affiliations among certain activists and influencers has also come under scrutiny. In addition, social media users and political commentators have condemned public figures who have shown sympathy or solidarity with these terrorist organizations, either directly or indirectly.
However, the nation mourns yet another loss at the hands of extremist violence, and the call for consistent global and domestic condemnation of terrorism, regardless of the perpetrators, grows louder.
